You're Commemorating Dame Maggie Smith

Want a legal thriller or are fascinated by the self-domesticating foxes

Hi friends,

A few weeks back, I was lucky enough to take a literary tour of North Carolina with the Visit NC team. Highlights included:

• Meeting Sarah Dessen, who wrote This Lullaby, my favorite YA book, in Chapel Hill.

• Exploring Beaufort with Kristy Woodson Harvey, author of the “Peachtree Bluff” books.

• Speaking with Nicholas Sparks in his hometown of New Bern, where Pepsi was first created.

• Chatting with Nina de Gramont, author of The Christie Affair, about Agatha Christie’s disappearance and being a Reese Witherspoon pick.

Two more notes before diving into this week’s recs:

• Congrats to Alicia Petrollini for winning this year’s Summer Reading Bingo Challenge. Thanks to everyone who played along.

• Thank you to everyone who told me to make the powdered donut cake in Snacking Cakes. Delicious! (Next time, I think I’ll do powdered sugar + cinnamon.)

And, now, what to read if…

You’re Rewatching “Downton Abbey”

The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George

Dame Maggie Smith — the iconic actress known for her roles in the “Harry Potter” films — died last week. A friend and I commemorated her life and oeuvre by watching “Sister Act.” But, if you’re considering a “Downton Abbey” binge-watch to celebrate her last major role, you may want to read The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George.

For the uninitiated, as part of “Downton Abbey’s” premise, the main character, Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, solved the family’s financial difficulties by marrying an American heiress. (In the real world, roughly 450 marriages between titled European men and so-called American dollar princesses occurred in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.)

I love this cover.

Harper St. George explores the lives of these women in her “The Gilded Age Heiresses” series, which kicks off with The Heiress Gets a Duke. Our heiress August Crenshaw has no interest in marrying after seeing her best friend struggle in an arranged marriage with a duke. Instead, she dreams of rising in the ranks at her family’s Iron Works Company. But, when August’s parents try to marry her sister Violet off to Evan Sterling, the impoverished Duke of Rothschild, she volunteers to take her place. The more August does to drive Evan away, the more intrigued he becomes by her.

The Heiress Gets a Duke is a fun and feminist historical romance perfect for fans of Courtney Milan and Sarah MacLean. I love the lush Gilded Age setting (look at the cover to get a sense), and writing this blurb made me realize I need to finish the series.

You’re a John Grisham Fan, Pt. 3

With Prejudice by Robin Peguero

A few months back, when I highlighted The Out of Town Lawyer as a must-read for legal thriller fans, and a bunch of you responded saying you’re always on the hunt for a new one. So, I knew I had to highlight With Prejudice, a legal thriller from a homicide prosecutor-turned-author.

On trial is Gabriel Soto, who stands accused of murdering Melina Mora. Soto insists he didn’t do it. But investigators found two strands of her hair in his bedroom, and an ambitious prosecutor, Sandy Grunwald, knows her political future depends on scoring a conviction. Soto’s public defender isn’t willing to go down easily, though, and unearths a transformative piece of evidence the night before the trial.

Alternating perspectives between the lawyers, reporters covering the story and jurors, Peguero shows how everyone brings their own prejudice to a trial. As mystery critic Sarah Weinman said, “I doubt I'll get [Peguero's] book out of my head anytime soon.”

You’re Wondering What Does the Fox Say

Fox and I by Catherine Raven

Last week, a bunch of friends and I all got served social media posts about foxes trying to domesticate themselves. When I googled it, I learned foxes used to play the roles dogs do now as companions and that in the U.K. foxes are starting to develop doglike traits. If you have seen the same videos or are just looking for a good nature memoir, check out Catherine Raven’s Fox and I.

After completing her PhD in biology, Catherine Raven built a tiny home on an isolated plot of land in Montana. She’d come to the sad conclusion that “when your own parents don't want you, no one else will.” She could easily spend a week without seeing another human. One day though, she realizes the same fox visits her home every day at 4:15. She slowly begins a relationship with the fox, reading to him The Little Prince, even though her scientific training taught her not to anthropomorphize animals. I don’t want to say too much beyond her relationship with the fox changes how she interacts with the people around her too.

The Wall Street Journal called Fox and I “mysterious and magical.” It’s a pointed reminder of the benefits of connecting with animals and nature. It made me hug my dog — somehow a domesticated wolf who now has her own bed — a little tighter.

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Thanks for reading.

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